Support base for earth anchorage



Oct. 22, 1968 G. c. LUEBKEMAN SUPPORT BASE FOR EARTH ANCHORAGE Filed Jan. 16, 1967 www INVENTOR. George CLae/eman United States Patent-O ice 3,406,937 s j SUPPORT BASE FOR` EARTH ANCHORAGE George C.'Luebkeman, Cincinnati, Ohio Trius Producfs, Inc., 32 Porter St., Cleves, Ohio 45002) Filed Jan. 16, 1967, Sel". No. 609,679 5 Claims."(Cl. 248-346) ABSTRACT DF. THE DISCLOSURE An 'anchorage'unit for mounting a target trap firmly upon the surface of the earth consisting of a longitudinal member, a lateral member and a hold-down member adapted'to be yieldably engaged by an earth anchor.

light weight and inexpensivekearth anchorage that may be easilyand firmly fixed in position to mount devices such as clay target throwing traps, and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plurality of structural members inexpensively arranged and fastened together, as by bolts, in a novel cooperative relationship which secures optimum strength and stability for my anchorage and effective engagement of certain of said members with the earth when the anchorage is held down by a resilient fastener means.

These and other objectives will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of my invention, and wherein:

FIG. l is a perspective view of my anchorage positioned upon the earth, an exemplary target trap and a resilient fastener means being associated therewith and shown in dotted lines in said figure.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, longitudinal section taken on line 2--2 of FIG. l and illustrating the cooperative relationship of the anchorage elements.

FIG. .3 is an exploded view in perspective of the elements of the earth anchorage shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view like that taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing a modification of my earth anchorage.

Referring to the drawings in detail the numeral 5 indicates my earth anchorage which is generally T-shaped in plan and comprises a longitudinal member 6 and a lateral member 7; each having a uniform rectangular shape in transverse section; one end 8 of the member 6 being positioned above and preferably off-center with respect to the lateral member 7. A hold-down member 9 has a side portion 10 aligned with the end 8 of the member 6 and the intermediate portion of member 7, and as shown in FIGS. 1-3 said hold-down member is preferably disposed between said members 6 and 7. The three anchorage members are inexpensively and sturdily fixed together by carriage bolts 11 and 12 which pass through aligned holes formed in all of said members and by a carriage bolt 13 that passes through aligned holes formed in members 6 and 9.

An opposed, laterally extending side portion 14 of the hold-down member 9 projects into the angle between the longitudinal member 6 and the longer side of the lateral member 7, said hold-down member having a through hole 3,405,937 Patented Oct. 22, 1968 16 formed in the free end portion of the side 14; a slot 17 in said portion forming an entrance opening between the free edge of the member 9 and the hole 16. As best shown in FIG. l a single earth positioned, yieldable fastening means 18 is adapted to cooperate with the holddown member 9 to fix the anchorage 5 upon the earth, said fastening means having a shank 19 extending through the hole 16 in the hold-down member 9; An anger 20 is fixed to the -lower end of the shank and the other end has a handle 21 connected thereto. An expansile spring 22 encircles the -shank 19 and has its lower coil-bearing upon the member 9, while the upper coil abuts against a nut 23 threaded to the shank 19, the nut being rotatable by meansof a lever 24 integral on the nut. The fastening means is similar to the earth mount disclosed in my Patent No. 3,067,846, granted Dec. 11, 1962. r

As illustrated in FIG. 1 a base 25 of a target trap 26, suc-h as the trap shown in my Patent No. 3,179,101-, granted Apr. 20, 1965, is mounted upon the member-6 and is secured thereto by the bolts 11, 12 and 13.

In FIG. 4 there is shown a slight modification of my anchorage wherein the end 8 of the 'longitudinal mem' ber 6 is positioned upon the lateral member 7 and the hold-down member 9 is positioned upon the end 8 of said member6. This arrangement spaces the hold-down member further away from the earth than does the disposition of parts in FIGS. 1-3 while somewhat decreasing the angularity of the modified anchorage with respect to the earth.

In operation a substantially level place upon the earth 27 is selected and the auger 20 is advanced to a proper depth into the earth by rotating the shank 19 with the aid of the handle 21. My anchorage 5 with a target trap 26, or the like, mounted thereon, is then placed upon the earth in position such that the auger shank 19 is entered through the slot 17 and into the central part of the hole 16 formed through the hold-d-own member 9; the spring being located on the shank above said member. Next, the nut 23 is screwed downwardly on the shank and upon the spring by manually rotating the lever 24 until the desired tension builds up in the spring which in turn yieldably forces the hold-down member 9 and the anchorage 5 firmly down upon the earth.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 4 it will be noted that the anchorage 5 is disposed at an angle to the surface of theearth 27 because the end 8 of the longitudinal member 6 is positioned above the earth engaging lateral member 7; the angular position of the anchorage causing the lateral member to be tilted edgewise so that the entire lower inner edge 28 only -of said member 7 bites int-o the surface 27 of the earth. Also the longitudinal member 6 is inclined lengthwise relative to the surface 27 so that the side edges 29-29 of the free end portion 30 of said longitudinal member 6 only come in Contact with and bite into the earths surface; said arrangement also maintaining the hold-down member 9 in spaced relation above said surface 27. As the nut 23 of the fastener means 18 is turned downwardly upon the spring 22 the hold-down pressure is increased and this causes-the entire edge 28 of the lateral member 7 and the side edges 29-29 of the free end portion 30 of the longitudinal member 6 to bite into the earths surface 27 and firmly fix and stabilize the anchorage 5 upon said surface. Operation of the target trap `causes sudden and jarring horizontal rotary moments to occur in the anchorage around the earth fastening means 18 but these only tend to sink the relatively sharp edges 28 and 29-29 of the members 7 and 6, respectively, deeper into the earth to further stabilize the anchorage.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described it will be understood that various alterations in details of construction may be made without departure from the scope of the appended claims; such details including the particular structure of the resilient fastener means, the kind of mechanism mounted upon the anchorage, the use of a hold-down member 9 on either or both sides of the T-shaped anchorage 5, or the number of bolts required to mount the mechanism on the anchorage.

What is claimed is:

1. An earth anchorage of the class described Comprising a lateral member having a uniform, rectangular shape in longitudinal section and tilted edgewise with respect to the earth, a longitudinal member having a uniform, rectangular shape in lateral section and inclined lengthwise with respect to the earth, means fixing one end of the longitudinal member above an intermediate portion of the lateral member, a hold-down member ixed to the members at their intersecting portions and having a free end spaced above the earth and extending into the angle formed between the longitudinal member and the lateral member, and means on the free portion of the hold-down member adapted to detachably engage an earth positioned, yieldable fastener means.

2. An earth anchorage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hold-down member is ixed between the longitudinal and the lateral members.

3. An earth anchorage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hold-down member is fixed upon the longitudinal member.

4. An earth anchorage of the class described comprising a lateral member having a rectangular shape in longitudinal section, a longitudinal member having a rectangular shape in lateral section, one end of the longitudinal member being disposed above an intermediate portion of the lateral member, a hold-down member having a side portion aligned with said one end and with said intermediate portion and disposed above the intermediate portion, the hold-down member having an opposed side portion extending into the angle formed between the longitudinal and the lateral members, a plurality of bolts extending through the intermediate portion of the lateral member, the side portion of the hold-down member and the end portion of the longitudinal member, and means on the opposed side portion of the hold-down member adapted to detachably engage an earth positioned, fastener means.

5. An earth anchorage of the class described comprising a lateral member tilted edgewise with respect to the earth and having a sharp laterally extending edge for engagement into the earth, a longitudinal member inclined lengthwise with respect to the earth, means fixing one end of the longitudinal member above an intermediate portion of the lateral member, the free end of the longitudinal member having sharp side edge portions for engagement into the earth, a hold-down member ixed to the members at their intersecting portions and having a free end spaced above the earth and extending into the angle formed between the longitudinal member and the lateral member, and means on the free end portion of the hold-down member adapted to engage an earth positioned fastener means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,250,361 7/1941 Cullinan 248--346 X 2,386,306 10/1945 Gardiner 248--346 X 2,980,095 4/1961 Hoag 248-346 X ROY D. FRAZIER, Przmmy Examiner.

FRANK DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner. 

